236 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



THE LION BRIJGi. 



wliich leads by several flights into the enchanting region 

 below. 



On the south side of the house is the principal garden, 

 which is in a measure formal. A terrace lies along the front 

 of the mansion, stone-edged, and having stairways down to 

 the level space of greensward, with its flower-beds an.1 

 flowering bushes. Here is a magnificent fountain rising from an 

 octagonal basin, with dolphins below, and very finely modelled 

 figures above. It is well seen in one of the pictures, and is 

 truly a gbrious work in bronze. There is much staaiary in 

 the gardens, and this is the material of nearly all of it. The 

 effect is superb, for bronze, like lead, has a hue that falls well 

 into a garden picture, and :t has the advantage that its 

 hardness and quality make it the fitting vehicle for fine artistic 

 expression. Now the statuary in this material at Leighton Hall 

 is by emintnt 

 artists and in 

 pose, lovely con- 

 tour of limb, and 

 excellent model- 

 I i n g is most 

 excellent work 

 of the sculptor's 

 h a n d. T h e 

 Venus and Cupid 

 below the east 

 terraces in this 

 garden is a lovely 

 exampleofwork, 

 and the amorini 

 everywhere 

 have individual 

 merit and 

 character, while 

 t.:e Icarus, in 

 defeated ambi- 

 tion, falling 

 headlong into the 

 po il as a minia- 

 ture /Egean, is 

 both original 



DOVS OF 



and admirable. The vases also are bronze, and are most 

 beautifully wrought. There is nothing more difficult than to 

 place sculpture well in a garden, but the success at Leighton 

 Hall is complete, and very few gardens can boast of such 

 admirable statuary. 



At the east end of the garden the ground rises, and the 

 terraces and stairways, which are of fine and unusual 

 character, lead up tlvj slope t-> the park, wi ere the foliage is 

 magr.i 'cent. I he belts of tre.s that enframe the garden are a 

 fine and reposeful feature, and are of varied hue and foliage. 

 At the other end of the principal garden the ground ialls, and 

 there the landscape character will delight those who love 

 natural gardenage. In ihis quarter is a small lake or pool tlv 

 same into which the son of Da'dalus p u:i,es in his h adlong 

 tall bordered by grass slopes, and reflecting th > umbrageous 



lanJsc ipe. Here 

 are great masses 

 of water-lilies 

 and other water- 

 loving pi nits, 

 and on the banks 

 the rhodo- 

 dendrons a r e 

 glorious in the 

 summer, wh.le 

 the trees are of 

 beautiful orna- 

 mental varieties. 

 It will have 

 been noticed that 

 the lormal and 

 landscape fea- 

 tures are closely 

 juxtaposed, and, 

 indeed, each is 

 the foil and com- 

 l'i< in Hi "i tlir 

 other. So far we 

 have noted noth- 

 ing of the really 

 *ZK. old school of 



